Farther Away
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Stop always comparing me to a flower! I'm sick and tired of it! There are differences between me and a cherry blossom...and flowers can't bleed..." Written for my cousin, Sasukez. Sorry it took so long! Attempt at SasuSaku Shippuden lol.


**OMG FINALLY!!! Sasukez asked me to write this for her like...years ago XD So recently, I just sat down one morning and typed it all up for 4 hours straight, aaaall 24 pages of it. When I texted my cousin and told her I finished it she was said 'OMG IT'S A MIRACLE!!' I haven't written for Naruto in a while... Sorry it took so long Sasukez, but here it is! XD Enjoy, all of you!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Shippuden. Songfic song by Evanescence.  


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Farther Away

Too many times.

She had seen that face far too many times.

It was almost always there whenever her village was under attack, if it was not in plain sight; it was backstage, pulling the strings from the shadows. That seemingly unrelenting smile, that pale, serpent-like skin, those demonic yellow eyes…

She remembered all the past times she had faced his henchmen, and for the most part, they all shared one thing in common aside from the bloodthirsty lust in their eyes. They all always had that same smile, as though he were inside each and every one of them.

But now, as she stood here facing him, facing the one man -if he was even a man at all- that caused all the chaos, bloodshed and fear that engulfed Konoha every day like a thick fog.

He was smiling at her, no it was not even a smile. It was a hellish grin that portrayed each and every one of his sharp fangs, practically dripping with greed to finally have her on his side.

She held her ground, forcing herself not to shiver and made sure that her jade eyes stayed locked with his yellow ones. He stepped closer until he was only about a foot away from her. Yet even now, as she stared into the face of the man who had not only disrupted the peaceful life of her home, but also stolen away the one and only person she had ever truly cared for since the second she had laid eyes on him, she did not budge.

She wanted him back.

She wanted that boy she once knew to be her former teammate more than anything else, and she would go to any lengths to get him back.

Or, if she could not get him back, she would at least join him.

She did not flinch as the long tongue snaked out and danced around her throat. She heard him snicker, yet she stood more still than concrete, externally unfazed, though what she felt on the inside was something on a whole new level. But she had trained herself for this part. She wanted Sasuke back and this was the very first step to achieving success on her mission. She was selling her soul to the Devil himself just to be able to see him again. Her want for him was too great for her to contain, and she had to let it take over in order for the plan she had devised to work.

The discourse she had just spoken to this man had proven to him how much she desired to join his forces. He had listened patiently the whole time, contemplating how much more efficient his members would be if he were to have this ace up his sleeve. His decision was made easily, knowing that every word she spoke was the truth.

She really was that desperate to see her beloved. So desperate that she would offer herself to the enemy of her friends to get near him again.

Finally, the tongue recoiled behind sharp fangs once again.

"Very well, Haruno Sakura-chan." He rasped. "You are more than welcome to join my side."

Then, the girl broke her statue expression.

Finally, she was able to reflect the face she had seen so many times before.

She let the corners of her lips crack upwards as she copied the devilish grin she knew so well.

**_I took their smiles and I made them mine_**

_**I sold my soul just to hide the light**_

_**And now I see what I really am**_

_**A thief, a whore, and a lair**_

Sakura had successfully infiltrated Orochimaru's current hideout.

It lay in the outskirts of a deserted village underground the enormous walls of a church.

The pink haired kunoichi had been working with him for over 2 months now. She had suppressed her want to see Sasuke and now almost had completely forgotten about him. The only reminder of him was the occasional glimpse of a familiar figure in the shadows and the small portion of her heart that kept all the locked-up memories alive.

She never really realized that he was so close to her, only an arm's reach away sometimes.

But since she had joined forces with her greatest enemy, something had died inside of her.

The others were extremely suspicious of her and she had never been left alone for a fraction of a second since her arrival. Yet she had no plots devised to rebel against them, she had no hidden intentions of betrayal.

Originally, she had come here to see her beloved, but now, none of that mattered to her.

She had been brainwashed into only being able to heal her fellows. She was healing the wounds inflicted by her own companions back in the Hidden was _healing _them. She was _helping_ the people she once thought were her enemies and she was slowly ensuring the destruction of her old friends. But something inside of her kept her were she was, doing what she was told to do.

Orochimaru made sure that she was treated well despite the suspicion, for she was one of his most valuable players.

The only time she was ever truly herself was when night fell. If she was lucky and had no one to heal for one night, she was allowed to sleep.

Always she found herself in a forest, shadowed in fog that was thicker than blood. She would run ahead to the same shadowed figure of the man she loved, dashed through the trees as though her very life depended on speed. Desperately, she would cry out his name and fling herself forward. She would grab his wrist and earn herself a shocked expression from him and then find herself awake in her chambers.

At first she always believed to be back home in her house, but she would soon realize that what she had gotten herself into was not a dream in the slightest.

_**I run to you (run away from this Hell)**_

_**Call out your name (giving up, giving in)**_

_**I see you there, Farther Away **_

_**(Still you are Farther Away)**_

It was only a matter of time before this happened.

She knew it was bound to come about someday.

She had been sitting in the 'hospital' room, awaiting her next patient. When she looked up, none other than the one and only Uchiha Sasuke was standing before her.

Blood gushed from his left arm like a red river, yet Sakura remained calm. She acted exactly the same around him as she did around all her other patients. Her expression and movements gave away nothing. Yet inside, the sense of death that hung around her heart had melted instantly at the sight of him.

It had been well over a year since she had last actually seen him. She felt alive again at the sight of him, no longer hypnotized by Orochimaru's pretenses.

Sasuke was the one she never expected to see coming to her for help. She had never treated him before, but presently saw why she needed to. The floor was already stained with blood, and without a word, Sakura was at his side, already figuring out what had caused glow around her palms brightened as she began the treatment.

The room was fairly large and well lit, yet there was still something she had not expected to see. For just a second, she saw a flicker in his onyx eyes, it was very hard to place, but eventually she decided that it was shock. He obviously knew that she had joined his side, yet probably had not expected her to last this long.

Sakura forced her feelings of relief and joy down to the depths of Hell. She was _not _going to mess this up by showing him that deep down she was still in love with him. The charade she had set out for him was that he was just another patient to her, nothing more, nothing less.

She diagnosed that the wound was from an attack she knew all too well. There were two lines of sharp, tiny holes on his skin once she cleared the blood away. There were lesser, similar marks decorating the rest of his body as well. Undoubtedly, it was none other than Kakashi's ninja hounds.

Yet Sakura kept silent, knowing that her former sensei must have caught Sasuke off guard somehow and had tried to weaken him and forcefully drag him back to the village.

Everyone, Tsunade, Kakashi and most of all Naruto, blamed the Uchiha for her own disappearance. Some of them assumed her dead or held captive as a hostage for Orochimaru.

And these were the things that kept Sakura right where she was.

If her own former ninja back in Konoha believed that she was forced to leave, instead of leaving on her own free will, why go back? If all they thought was that she was being held hostage or believed that she was so weak she would die within a month, what was she to them really?

Now, she stayed with Orochimaru not solely for Sasuke anymore. She stayed because she was not seen as a weak, defenseless burden, or if she was, they all did an exceptional job of keeping their thoughts to themselves. She felt somewhat needed here, and for their decisions to state otherwise, Sakura stayed with them.

She knew better than to underestimate Kakashi and his dogs, so she did not stop applying her healing chakra once the bleeding had ceased. She continued for a while longer, slowly pouring her life-energy into him, feeling the power drain from her body. Perhaps she did so just to keep him there longer, or perhaps it was because she wanted to give him enough strength to keep fighting so that he would not need to come back to this room to torture her.

Sasuke knew that the healing was finished, and he knew that she was trying to drain her own life into him. _Is this her own discreet attempt at suicide?_ He wondered.

Her breathing was getting heavy and her skin was beaded with sweat. Her body wanted this more than anything, to give her life away to him and finally have it all over with. Yet her mind did not realize what her body was trying to do and willingly, it obliged. She was lost in the hopes of finally dying, finally being free from all the torment. She let herself shut down completely and just continued to release her chakra.

The green glow at her palms was getting dimmer now, showing she did not have much left in her. She was shaking and gasping for air, tears staining her cheeks.

Just when she felt it was all over, she felt a firm; strong set of hands grasp her wrists. Sakura looked up with a gasp, her eyes filled with shock and bewilderment. Sasuke had grabbed both her wrists and shoved them away from him.

"That's enough." His deep voice shook her to the core.

It was commanding yet there was something else behind it she could only identify as the slightest bit of concern. His eyes were as hard as ever, but Sakura fantasized to herself that she could see a bit of caring for his old teammate in those eyes. She tried to open her mouth to reply but he did not let her speak.

"_I'm_ not going to be the one Orochimaru finds with his dead medical ninja. It was a clever way to try and commit suicide, but you're going to have to try something else if that's what you truly want to do." And with that he was gone.

Sakura was numb, perhaps with shock or relief or the creeping sense of death she felt coming over her. She stared at the place where he had just stood, his blood staining the ground, his scent just barely lingering in the atmosphere.

That was it.

That was what she had truthfully come to this side for.

She had seen him, heard him, touched him and in return he saw her, heard her and was touched by her.

That was all she ever wanted.

She could easily die somewhat contently now.

Yet something held her back from ridding her body of the last once of chakra.

There was just one last question she needed an answer to. _Why? _

Itachi was dead, so surely there was no reason why he was still on Orochimaru's side? Why did he not return to Konoha?

She needed this one last question to be cleared up for her before she ended her own life.

Sakura sat down on her own bed, slowly trying to regain her breath.

And for the first time since she had joined Orochimaru, she realized that she was finally alone; completely, utterly alone.

_**I'm numb to you – numb and deaf and blind**_

_**You give me all but the reason why**_

_**I reach but I feel only air at night**_

_**Not you, not love, just nothing**_

Sakura found herself inside her dream again, yet this time it was not just a dream; it was all too real.

She was chasing after someone, but this time it was not Sasuke.

She soared over rocks and fallen trees with the speed and grace of a thousand cheetah, the regenerated, green chakra illuminating her entire body and purposely giving away her position in the dark, foggy forest. She knew her adversary could easily sense her chakra and pick up on her location, so why give her the satisfaction of using her special powers?

Karin may have had the upper hand when it came to cunning, but brute strength easily went to Sakura.

It was a week after she had treated Sasuke, and the pink haired girl's chakra was fully replenished now. Of all the suspicious members of Orochimaru's group, Karin had always held the number 1 position. She would not trust Sakura for half a second even if her life depended on it. Karin despised her for her once-close relationship with Sasuke and wanted her dead more than anyone else did.

Karin was never Sakura's first choice of an acquaintance either.

She had been on her way through the woods to finally end it all and take her own life, despite her unanswered questions, but of course, Orochimaru always had one of his spies handy and Karin had now accused her of betrayal.

"You'll _never _get the chance to tell your little secrets back at Konoha you traitorous filth!" She snarled, leaping from out of the mist like a panther, red eyes gleaming. Sakura lashed out as she passed, landing a blow on her opponent's arm and sending her flying. With a smirk of satisfaction, Sakura stood and waited for her to reappear.

Of course she had been planning to commit suicide, but she would _never _give Karin, of all people, the satisfaction of killing her before she got the chance to do so.

Suddenly the fog parted and within a second, Sakura felt a weight forcing her backwards. She then felt something solid behind her as her body collided with the truck of a tree. The branches swayed and creaked as Karin pinned her against the bark, strangling her. "Sasuke is _mine_! You got that, freak? Now die!" She howled, tightening her grip on Sakura's neck.

Using her superior mental skills, Sakura forced her right arm into the air and balled her fingers into a fist. She sent in crashing into the trunk of the tree behind her, shattering the wood into splinters. Karin fell forward at the unexpected movement and as her grip loosened on Sakura's throat, and the pink haired girl freed herself and sent the most powerful kick she could recall executing into the other ninja's stomach. She felt satisfaction as the other girl's face twisted before she was sent flying off into the woods.

"Fine!" Sakura called after her. "You can have him! See if I care!" She cried, tears unconsciously streaming down her face.

She could not remember the last time she had cried, but now she thought she realized why she had done it so much in the past; it felt good. It was relieving and it seemed to unburden her soul.

She heard a rustling in the bushes and knew it was Karin, scrambling to her feet and running off with her tail between her legs. "Coward!" Sakura spat bitterly after her.

Then, another sound alerted her and she whipped around, ready to face another one of that Orochimaru's goons.

But instead she came face-to-face with the one and only Sasuke Uchiha.

He was staring at her; actually it seemed he was staring into her or through her. There was the smallest smirk playing on his lips, and his onyx eyes, though static as always, danced – yes danced – with the slightest amusement.

Sakura glared at him with intense hatred and disgust, silently daring him to say what was on his mind; that she was just as weak and annoying as ever, or something along the lines.

But instead, he gazed at her, then off towards where Karin had vanished and back to Sakura again.

"So that's how you feel about me?" He asked tauntingly. "After all those years you said you loved me, and now this? So you were just lying the whole time."

Sakura just continued to glare at him, not allowing her disbelief to show in her eyes.

He held her gaze for a moment longer. "I never expected Konoha's sweet little cherry blossom to turn out like this. But I have to admit she _was _annoying. Probably more annoying than you."

That was it.

That was what she had been waiting for.

The jeering comment about her, his expression of dislike for her that had been there from the very start and had never wavered since.

"Well I'm _so _sorry." Sakura growled. "But after today you're going to have to deal with her on your own cause _I _sure as Hell won't be around to do it!" She snarled. "And stop always comparing me to a flower! I'm sick and tired of it! There are differences between me and a cherry blossom…" Her voice faltered for a second before returning. "And flowers can't bleed…"

She finished, whipping around and tearing through the forest, branches and thorns ripping at her skin as she pelted by. She let the tears fall, knowing they would be some of her last.

She imagined that she was chasing after the boy she once knew and loved so well. She imagined that he was just ahead of her, waiting for her to catch up.

Finally, as she broke through the trees, she came to a small clearing with a ledge at the end. The ground dropped away and seemed to vanish into the pits of Hell itself.

Without slowing her speed one bit, with no hesitation, she raced forward, almost able to see the outline of the boy she was chasing. Tears flew off of her face, cascading down to the Earth in liquid crystal droplets. A smile came across her face as she covered the last few strides.

"Sasuke-kun." She called out to him softly. _This _was the smiling face of the boy that she had always desired but could never obtain. The Sasuke she wanted to be with had died long ago, if he had ever even existed at all.

_Either way, _She thought. _My beloved Sasuke-kun, I'll be with you soon…_

With the final thought on her mind, she took the last leap and jumped.

She felt the ground vanish beneath her, feeling elated, as light as air as gravity took over and let her fall.

There was no one to stop her now.

_I'll be with you soon…_

_**I run to you (run away from this Hell)**_

_**Call out your name (giving up, giving in)**_

_**I see you there, Farther Away**_

_**(Still you are Farther Away)**_

It all happened so fast.

Everything seemed to happen all at once.

The sweet feeling of freedom came over her, and she longed for death to come as swiftly and as painlessly as possible.

But then the possibility hit her that it might not be that way.

What if she fell to the ground and only broke her bones but not enough to kill her? What if she lay writhing in sheer pain and agony for hours, bleeding her life away too slowly? What if she was too weak to even kill herself at all? Why had she not just drained her body of it's chakra or released the lifeblood from her wrists? Had the sheer thrill of her flight through the forest just been so intoxicating that she could simply not bring herself to a halt?

Everything was hitting her _now_. She recalled Sasuke's prior words to her._ "But I have to admit she _was _annoying. Probably more annoying than you."_ The glint in his eyes, the jeer in his voice…that taunting smirk had not been directed at her! It had been _Karin_ he was insulting! And in doing so…had he been trying to…_complement _her?

_Why didn't I see it before? _Sakura inwardly shouted. _He was…trying to praise me! _

Sakura wanted to release the bile of disgust that rose inside of her. She was disgusted with herself! She hated herself! She was glad she was about to die! Her only regrets were not being able to apologize to her beloved for not understanding what he meant.

"Sasuke-kun…Gomenasai…" She whispered through the air that sliced up at her.

She awaited the impact of the ground, smashing her to pieces.

But something told her to open her eyes and when she obeyed, she saw him.

He was falling next to her, _with _her, yet the look in his eye told her that _he _had no intention of dying. He was here for _her_.

His onyx eyes practically spoke out "If you want me to save you, just say so."

Sakura blinked her tears away, contemplating everything in her mind, the advantages and disadvantages of living of dying. All she wanted to do was apologize to him. Yet she knew she would never have enough time to say the words to him now.

However, being the stubborn girl she was, she did it anyway.

"Gomenasai…Sasuke-kun-!" She cried out to him.

Then she felt her body hit something, knocking her breath out.

She closed her eyes on him, letting his face be the last thing she saw.

Her eyelids flickered and covered the jade orbs and her world went blank, her words reaching him too late.

It all happened so fast.

_**Don't leave me here by myself**_

_**I can't breathe …**_

_**I run to you (run away from this Hell)**_

_**Call out your name (giving up, giving in)**_

_**I see you there, Farther Away**_

_**(Still you are Farther Away)**_

Slowly, color began to come back into her world, dripping into her field of view bit by bit like a watercolor painting.

She finally managed to blink her eyes open, and found herself staring up at him.

Ironic that the last thing she saw in _that _life was the first thing she saw in _this _one.

She was lying on the ground and he was sitting next to her, staring down into her eyes. She smiled and let her jade irises sparkle, expressing all the feelings of love and joy that she could never express in her past life.

He smiled back.

She really _was_ in Heaven.

He reached down a hand and placed it on her forehead, then wiped a few strands of loose hair away from her face, all the while the beam never left her lips. Then, she felt his warm hand leave her skin, only to reconnect with it on her wrist. He held his thumb over her veins and she gave him a questioning look alongside her smile.

Only then did she realize the broken silence.

_Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump._

Her heart was still beating.

The smile came off of her face as she gasped, her eyes doubling in size from shock.

He was still smiling down at her, amusement clear on his divine face. "S-Sasuke…kun?" She queried. "H-How…?" She stammered before growing silent. The look in his eyes now matched that of what they had been like when she was falling.

Obviously, he had had no intentions whatsoever of letting her fall to her death, whether she wanted to or not.

Realization came to her now and she guessed that she had not landed on the solid ground, but in the strong, safe place of Sasuke's arms.

"Can you stand?" He asked her, bringing her back to reality. She nodded, hoping it was true. He offered her his hand and her heart almost stopped right then and there, but she accepted it nonetheless. He pulled her up to stand beside him, catching her as she lost her balance and almost fell. He waited until she regained her feet before letting go of her.

Then, without a word, he began walking.

Sakura stayed where she was, opening her mouth to attempt to thank him, but before she got the words out, he stopped and looked back at her over his shoulder.

"Are you coming or not?" He asked flatly.

Sakura froze, taking it all in before realizing that he was asking her to go with him.

She nodded with a smile and almost bounded over to him like a baby fawn. But she restrained herself as to not be any more annoying to him. He let off another small smile.

"It's okay." Was all he said and she understood immediately.

He was letting her be herself.

He was telling her in those two simple words that she was not annoying.

In those two words, he told her that he accepted her, _every_ part of her.

And in those two words, he was telling her that he felt the same way.

As if to confirm her conviction, she caught a gleam in his eye that she could only place as affection that was nothing less that love."Sasuke-kun." She beamed a smile brighter than the sun and caught up to him, latching onto his arm without holding back. He did not protest in the slightest.

Somehow he had changed; perhaps she had done it?

As they began walking together, Sakura asked, "Sasuke-kun, where are we going now?"

He seemed to contemplate for a moment.

"Anywhere." He decided.

Yet something told her that he had no intentions of returning to Orochimaru.

He seemed to be finished with that Hell on Earth, and quite frankly, so was she.

She was giving up on that life, and was now giving in to him.

Perhaps they would start a new life together on their own, or perhaps they would accidentally cross paths with Konoha once again?

Nothing could be said for sure at the moment, but it was certainly possible.

But the one thing that Sakura knew for sure, was that now, no matter how far away Sasuke was, she would never be far behind.

_**I run to you (run away from this Hell)**_

_**Call out your name (giving up, giving in)**_

_**I see you there, Farther Away**_

_**(Still you are Farther Away)**_

_**Farther Away**_

_**Farther Away**_

_**Farther Away**_

_**Farther Away**_

_**Farther Away.

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**A/N: I know the ending was a bit...odd, especially for this song, but I haven't written Naruto fanfics in a while, and this is my first try at Shippuden. So please bear with me!!  
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**Okay first of all I have to apologize for the whole Karin situation. I don't even know who she _is_. All I know is she was one of Orochimaru's henchmen (....right?) I read a bit about her powers but pretty much everything else was improvised. I don't know how she talks or fights or anything like that. I'm not caught up with the series and the only reason I even put her in this at all was because Sasukez asked me to :P (Hope you liked it cuz!) **

**So I apologize for any inaccurate things I may have put in by accident. Please don't flame me!!**

**Thanks for reading till the end! I know it wasn't great but, Please review!!  
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